Uruguay

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay or Republica Oriental del Uruguay in Spanish can be found at the South American continent. It has population of more or less 3.3 million people with a third of them living in the capital city of Montevideo also, majority of the population are of European ancestry.

The country shares its northern border with Brazil, to the west is the Uruguay River, to the southwest, the Rio de la Plata or river of silver in Spanish separates the country with Argentina and to the southeast is the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1680 the Portuguese established one of the country’s oldest European towns, the Colonia del Sacramento which is now a city. In the early 18th century the Spanish founded Montevideo first as a military stronghold then later became the nation’s capital. After a series of bitter fighting with Argentina, Brazil and Spain, Uruguay won her independence in 1828. The nation is currently a democratic republic in which the president is both head of state and government.

The republic largely depends on agriculture in which this sector contributes at least 10% to the national GDP. A sizable quantity of its produce is also sold for export. It is also the least corrupt and has the best political and labor environment in Latin America according to studies. Uruguay enjoys a high GDP per capita and also has a highly develop economy which maybe the reason it ranked 47th in terms of quality of life. It is also the first among the Latin American countries to recognize and legalize same sex marriage or civil union.

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